Spontaneous Cooperation  Decades
in the Making

By Peter Meisen, Global Energy Network Institute, San Diego,
CA

After WWI, President Woodrow Wilson said, "the highest
and best form of efficiency is the spontaneous cooperation
of a free people." Where is the evidence of spontaneous
cooperation in our world today? Historically, it seems
that the cause of war -- Pearl Harbor, Iraq's invasion
of Kuwait and September 11th -- will catalyze a society
and nations to cooperate. Must we have our backs to
the wall, or is it possible for a compelling vision
to create spontaneous cooperation?

The Critical Question

In 1969, Dr. R Buckminster Fuller (most well known
for geodesic domes and Buckyballs) developed a World
Game simulation to explore global resources and trends.
It posed the critical question, "how do we make
the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest
possible time through spontaneous cooperation without
ecological damage or disadvantage of anyone?"
In other words, how do we provide a decent living
standard for everyone in an environmentally sustainable
way? The part about "through spontaneous cooperation"
always remained a puzzle to me. How does positive
change happen spontaneously on a global scale?

The premier strategy of Fuller's global simulation
was the interconnection of electric power grids between
regions and nations with an emphasis on tapping abundant
renewable energy resources around the world. Electricity
provides the foundation of our modern society, and
power grids act as freeways that deliver the electricity
to power our homes, businesses and industry. During
the 20th Century, transmission lines delivered electricity
from large, centralized plants that burned fossil
fuels and nuclear energy. Today, developers of wind,
solar and geothermal resources in remote locations
are plugging into these expanding grid systems --
decentralizing power production while increasing grid
integration.

But spontaneous cooperation? Hardly. Any project
developer will tell you all the hurdles they face
due to regulations, interconnection and siting issues.
In the energy industry, the time lag between project
proposal to actual commissioning can be 10 - 20 years.

Yet quietly -- below the radar of most observers
-- Fuller's vision of using power lines to link nations
across borders has recently been energized at a pace
never seen before.

Nations are linking up

In the past few months, Russia and China1
agreed to large-scale power grid interconnections
that will benefit both economies. Additionally, the
Chinese have signed deals with Tajikistan2
and Vietnam3 to build transmission lines
across their respective borders. The South Koreans
have offered to extend their grid into North Korea
and modernize the North Korean network as a part of
the negotiations to scrap the North's nuclear program4.

In Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan
and Pakistan have proposed a transmission line among
their states5. Calling it a "win-win situation",
the Krgryz Energy Minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi stated
"we want to bring benefits to the common man because
if there is economic activity and prosperity, it will
be shared by the people of these countries." Moreover,
all 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) have pledged to interconnect the grids
of its members6.

In Africa, NEPAD (New African Partnership for Development)
and the African Development Bank are supporting the
Kenya - Ethiopia7 agreement to supply power
to each other. Modeled after the 12 nation South African
Power Pool, 14 ECOWAS (Economic Community of West
African States) nations are planning to link their
energy grids8.

The Middle East has seen an wave of integration.
Lebanon will be linked to the regional electricity
grid that includes Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Turkey
as of the beginning of next year9. This
interconnection project also involves the joining
of Libya and Iraq10. Last month, former
enemies Iran and Iraq11 agreed to build
four cross-border power lines to transfer 1000 MW
of power.

Mexico’s Mesoamerica Initiative12 plans
to integrate the energy grids all Central American
nations. The World Bank and the US DOE are partnering
with the Central American Integration Secretariat13
to encourage clean energy development, emphasizing
renewables over fossil fuel projects.

Most of these projects have been planned by engineers
for years. The economic benefits -- load leveling,
reliability of supply, emergency backup -- are all
proven. Yet international transmission requires agreement
between ministries of energy and state, financial
institutions, local utilities and property owners.
Cooperation must overcome the combined barriers of
multiple stakeholders.

Emergence through emergency

So what's happened in the world to cause these nations
to work together? Buckminster Fuller said that society
will often "emerge through emergency"14
-- because when times are good, any change at all
is difficult. For many developing nations the challenge
is dire: 1.6 billion people have no electrical services
- no refrigeration of food or medicine, clean water
or lighting. For the rest of us, scientific consensus
on climate change clearly places the cause on our
'addiction to oil' for transportation, and burning
coal and natural gas for power production.

Today, half the nations on the planet are linked
with a neighbor, but half remain electric energy islands.
The emergencies of our time: poverty, climate change,
peace and population growth are in our face daily.
These issues and their solutions transcend political
boundaries. National leaders are seeing the benefits
of mutual interdependence over trying to go it alone.

Woodrow Wilson spoke of spontaneous cooperation in
a post WWI context. Now we're seeing spontaneous cooperation
spread around the world -- shaping international relationships
from the old "us vs. them" paradigm to a one based
on mutual benefit. In power transmission between nations,
sharing means having more. That's synergy -- and what's
needed on every continent.

Peter Meisen is President of the Global Energy Network
Institute (GENI).

GENI focuses on the interconnection of electric power
networks between nations and continents, with an emphasis
on tapping abundant local and remote renewable energy
resources.

GENI has partnered with KLD Research & Analytics
to create the KLD Global Climate100 Index15
-- tracking the world's 100 leading public companies
working on decarbonization through renewable energy,
clean & efficient technologies and future fuels.
For contact: peter@geni.org +1.619.595.0139 www.geni.org